What’s more appealing: a $US110 ($151 AUD) fine for expired plates or spending $US120 ($164 AUD) per year on renewing your plates when you’ve been getting by just fine without it? One Toronto driver has opted for the former, making it by for 30 years without renewing his plates.
According to the TPS Traffic Service, the officer who pulled over the car claimed that he was only eight years old when the plates expired in August of 1989.
#VZET – The VZET officer who stopped this driver sporting this license plate on their vehicle was eight years old when the validation expired ^bm #Comeonfolks @cityoftoronto @jamesramertps @TorontoPolice @TPScott_baptist @CstTaraso9345 @OACPOfficial @PCArsenault @CP24 @CAASCO pic.twitter.com/hwAl8ZUrT8
— TPS Traffic Services (@TrafficServices) November 19, 2020
And that’s not even the record. Another officer in the thread noted that they’d recently come across plates that expired in 1984.
Forgetting to renew your plates is one thing, and it’s something that officers in Ontario have been very forgiving about during the COVID-19 pandemic — if you haven’t had the means to renew, they’ll lower the fine and send you on your way.
That is… not the case with this fella. He may have saved $US3,600 ($4,929 AUD) these last 30 years avoiding a renewal, but he’s getting the full fine. A mere $US110 ($151 AUD) seems pretty paltry when you consider the fact that this vehicle has probably been uninsured for the past few years, if not during the entire 30 years.
Hopefully the driver will get the car insured and updated if he’s going to be taking it for more frequent cruises — I sure as hell wouldn’t want to get into an accident with a wholly uninsured driver.
But I have to admit that I’m impressed at this driver’s sense of economy. The tweet didn’t mention what car it was, but if this is one of the occasional cruisers that you only take out every so often, taking a $US110 ($151 AUD) slap is more financially savvy than renewing the licence plate every year. I can’t say I endorse it — but I can kind of understand it.